Greek police released 80 migrants from a container truck near the town of Xanthi in north-eastern Greece on Monday morning. Due to suffocating conditions many of them suffered respiratory problems. The truck driver was arrested.
Several people lay on the asphalt.
It was short after the tolls on Egnatia highway where police stopped the lorry for control.
When police opened the container door, they saw dozens of people inside a suffocating atmosphere.
Many of the illegal passengers were suffering from respiratory problems and needed medical care.
Ambulances from Xanthi and Kavala were called on the spot in order to trasnfer them to nearby hospitals.
“The conditions inside the container were stifling and it is doubtful whether the migrants would survive the long journey to Thessaloniki,” notes local media xanthisnews,citing police estimations
The migrants are men aged 20-30, while there is also a small number of children, media report.
They are most likely from Afghanistan and it will take time to identify their nationality. Their destination was the city of Thessaloniki
They had most probably entered Greece via the natural border to Turkey, the Evros river.
The lorry driver is a Georgian national.
Police had reportedly received a tip for the illegal transport.
Greek media recall the migrants’ death in a lorry in Essex, UK, noting “a new tragedy was averted.”
